Please try another search
© Reuters. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a press conference in Beijing American Center at the U.S. Embassy, in Beijing, China, June 19, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/Pool
LONDON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the United States would have deep concerns about Chinese military activities in Cuba, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing was planning a new training facility there.
Speaking at a press conference in London after wrapping up a trip this week to Beijing, Blinken said he made clear to his Chinese counterparts "that we would have deep concerns about PRC intelligence or military activities in Cuba".
Blinken added: "This is something we're going to be monitoring very, very closely and we've been very clear about that. And we will protect our homeland, we will protect our interests."
The Wall Street Journal, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported on Tuesday that China and Cuba are negotiating to establish a joint military training facility on the island that could lead to the stationing of Chinese troops just 100 miles off Florida's coast.
Discussions for the facility are at an advanced stage but have not concluded, and President Joe Biden's administration has contacted Cuban officials to try to stop the deal, the newspaper reported.
The White House National Security Council and the Cuban government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Washington said last week it has made its concerns known to Cuba about hosting Chinese spy operations. The U.S. government has long suspected that China runs an intelligence gathering operation in a village near Havana, on Cuba's northern coast.
China denies it uses Cuba as a spy base. Cuba says the only military incursion in its territory is the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which belongs to the United States.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.